Filed under: Comfort at Camp, Family Camping, Outdoor Recreation & Hiking, Technology & Camping

Christmas Ideas for the Outdoors Lover in Your Life!

As a follow up to my Stocking Stuffers post a few weeks ago, each year I like to write a blog to share some Christmas gift ideas for those in your life who enjoy the outdoors…or maybe for yourself! I like to try to come up with ideas that may not occur to you, to stimulate your imagination and perhaps lead to that one gift that will be enjoyed year round.

As with the St. Nick’s ideas, couple of traditional favorites include a new calendar to help plan trips in the New Year and the newest edition of Woodall’s Guide for the same reason. But every year I also like to add a few new ideas that may simply not have occurred to the typical Santa.

Here are my ideas for this year:

1)     A new Butter Fleece to wear as a top layer on cooler spring or fall days and under an outer layer during winter. My family cannot get enough of this fleece; we each have several and wear them throughout the year. While many of them are the ¼ zip variety, Terry is getting a full zip version from Santa this year. Stylish enough to wear as a jacket even when not hiking, he can never have too many of these deliciously soft, warm, fleeces..

2)     Zip-Off Pants—Terry swears by these as well, especially for those mornings when it is 30 degrees at the beginning of our hike and 60 degrees mid way through it. This is probably the most versatile piece of clothing you can own, whether you wear it for hiking, biking, or those camping mornings that start out cool and warm up quickly. Also, most have an elasticized waistband so you do not need to know an exact size to buy pants that will fit; you just need to be within a few inches.

3)     Winter Sports Gear—Our son-in-law is finally receiving his own set of cross country skis, boots and poles this year. As he had never skied before he met our family, and we tend to accumulate extra skis, boots and poles, Nate has always “made do” with skis that were a bit short, boots that were a bit tight and poles that were a bit small. Finally this year, his second being an official member of our family, he will be receiving his own gear so he will truly be “one of us.” Any outdoor lover would love to receive a cross country ski package or set of snow shoes to enable them to enjoy the outdoors even in the colder months.

4)     Lighting—When spending time in the out of doors, any time of the year, lighting can be essential. Terry loves this LED lantern as it is very handy no matter when or where he needs a bit of extra light. Last year, he was the proud recipient of a headlamp, a handy item my daughter discovered while camping on the beaches of Hawaii. Needing to set up in the dark, she and her friend Julia, had no trouble and kept their hands free by donning the headlamps Julia had thoughtfully packed.

5)     Hiking Poles—Yes, I know poles also made my St. Nick list so this is a bit of a cheat or repeat, but they often cost upwards of $80-100 so are a bit pricey for a stocking stuffer. Thus, I thought them appropriate here. Terry and I use hiking poles on all our hikes and swear by them. Choose your poles by their weight and any other unique features. Terry has a Black Diamond model that he prefers; I have a model that is much lighter as I like to limit the weight that I am hiking with.

There are many other items on the market that would be perfect for an outdoor lover but these are a few of my favorites. Merry Christmas and Happy Camping!

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